Sins Before The Wedding
by Written Parody
Summary: Everything was supposed to get better and easier after the war, but because of drunken parties, starting a family, under-cover missions in the Earth Kingdom and deep secrets the hard choices are only just beginning. Post-series Zutara.
1. Chapter 1

**Sins Before The Wedding **

**AN: **So after two weeks of lying around begging for muse, it finally decides to hit me. And what it hit me with is this three-part mini-fic about my favourite pairing in Avatar. I can't promise that it's going to be any better than my usual mess, and I'm pretty sure there is going to be a fair bout of OOC-ness. But I'm kinda attached to some of the ideas born in this fic so… I'm just going to roll with it and see how good it turns out. Reviews will be adored, really. I need to know if it's worth continuing with this…

And a premature thanks to Lita The Storyteller for being my "RJ Buddha". Hope the way I portrayed him didn't give you a Brain Aneurism because of its lameness or something.

Oh and please excuse the lack of chapter names. My muse can only stretch so far.

**Rating: **T+ for some wee implications of stuff kids shouldn't read about.

**Pairings: **Sokka/Suki, Mai/Zuko, Katara/Aang. Hints of Aang/Toph and (naturally) Katara/Zuko.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. If I did, Zuko would have got a clue at Ember Island and left Mai to Ruon-Jian.

* * *

**Part I **

Under normal circumstances, Zuko would have been shocked at the news. He was, after all, the Firelord: he was expected to behave in a civil and proper way. And while he obviously had to produce an heir, it was also expected of him to only conceive a child within wedlock. So it was almost inevitable that his Council would give him dark looks when the news that Mai was pregnant got out. Mai: his noblewoman _girlfriend_ and nothing else.

The situation had to be kept as quiet as possible, for if it got out there was no telling what chaos could issue. The simple truth was that there were still those who wished to take the throne away from Zuko, and a pregnant girlfriend… Well, the possibilities were horrifying even to think of. And, of course, the wedding had to be planned in double-quick time, cancelling out Zuko's previous desire to wait until he was no longer a teenager before he got married.

With all the chaos and stress and disapproving lectures it would have been natural for Zuko to be upset under normal circumstances. But it was even worse than normal. Because Mai, his girlfriend, was very definitely pregnant. And he had never slept with her.

-x-x-x-

"Shut up, all of you: I want to make a toast!"

The hubbub of laughter and speaking died away at the yell from the blind Earthbender. When it was finally quiet she cleared her throat and raised her glass of punch again.

"To Snoozles and his long-suffering wife," she began, and Suki grinned widely. "I gotta admit that when the two of you got married I wasn't sure that you'd last a month. But, here we are at your One Year Anniversary and Suki is still sane. It's a miracle, yes, and I wish you both the best of luck until next year."

The rest of the guests at the small party cheered in agreement to this, and Sokka gave his wife a peck on the cheek. Suki looked around the room and felt warmth flood into her at the sight of her little family. They had all journeyed to Kyoshi Island for her anniversary and now they all sat or lounged in the small room along with the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors. In fact, the only person who was really missing was Mai, and that was because she was just far too tired to make it, according to Zuko.

Suki turned to Sokka and she raised her eyebrows questioningly. He looked surprised.

"Now? I thought you said you wanted to wait until my dad got here tomorrow."

"I did… But we can't be sure everybody else will still be here by the time he arrives. And I really don't want to tell our _family _via a letter."

Her eyes were pleading and Sokka gave in at once. He picked up a bowl and began tapping on its side to get attention. Every eye in the room turned to him and he slung an arm around his wife, positively beaming already.

"Okay. So we have something to tell you…" He grinned down at the Kyoshi Warrior on his arm.

"I'm pregnant!" Suki giggled delightedly.

There was an outbreak of squealing from all the girls present, and three rushed forward at once to hug her, beaming as widely as she was. Even Toph looked excited as Katara squealed and clapped her hands.

"I'm so happy for you!" the Waterbender sighed as she got her turn to hug her sister-in-law. "Congratulations!" This time she hugged her brother. Then, as she let go, the smile faded from her face and she shot Zuko a dirty look. "At least _some people _know the correct order to do things in," she said loudly.

Zuko grit his teeth but did not answer her. Suki and Sokka gave each other a worried look, but both of them decided to just stay out of it. They had all been shocked at the news of Mai's pregnancy three months earlier, but Katara had taken it almost as a personal insult. Nobody knew why, but they wisely decided to stay out of it until Katara's snide remarks turned into something more dangerous and they had to intervene to stop physical injury.

"Congratulations. Both of you."

Zuko's smile was genuine as he hugged Suki and slapped a grinning Sokka on the shoulder.

"How cool is this? We're both gonna be dads!" Sokka grinned, flinging an arm around Zuko happily.

"Yeah, well I wouldn't let _my _child hang around Zuko too long; he might lose all his morals," Katara snapped cattishly.

Zuko turned and glared at her, opening his mouth to finally retort. But before he could get even a sound out something hard smacked him in the back and he was thrown forward.

"Okay, that's it!" Toph yelled, her hands still raised from the Earthbending she had just done. "You two have been acting like three-year-olds the entire evening!"

"You _two_?" Zuko spluttered incredulously. "I never-!"

Toph cut him off by making a wave out of the soil beneath both him and Katara, rolling them both outside the door.

"And you two are going to _stay _outside until you've kissed and made up!" she said smartly, before slamming the door in their faces.

Zuko sighed and sat up, ruffling the dirt from his hair. A few meters next to him, Katara got to her feet, scowling and dusting off her dress. Her eyes met Zuko's, and they were hard shards of ice.

"Just spit it out," he snapped at her.

Her back turned stick-straight and she fixed him with a look very like the one she had given him two years ago when he'd first joined the gaang at the Western Air Temple.

"How _could _you!" she hissed. "I would have thought that _you_, who chased the Avatar all over the damn world for _honour_, would have enough of it not to _defile _a woman! You have no idea what you've done to her reputation! To _her_! And your reputation too! Can you not understand that there are people who want to _snatch your throne away_? We do _not _want another war! And besides that, did you ever think what it would do to your personal life? The lives of those closest to you?"

She was ranting and pacing in front of him, looking as mad as he'd ever seen her. He didn't really understand why _she _was so upset about it, but he knew better than to interrupt.

"What were you _thinking_, Zuko! Surely you've learnt how _not _to make mistakes by now!"

This was too much for Zuko, and he jumped to his feet, fuming.

"Look, I know I messed up, okay? I wasn't thinking clearly… You were at that party too; you know _everybody _got drunk that night!"

"Yeah, Zuko, I was there. And I _know _everybody got drunk. Spirits, even _Aang _was tipsy. But you don't see anybody else being _pregnant _because of it! What would have happened if it wasn't Mai or something? You were irresponsible and you once again just _didn't think_!" She was pacing again, throwing her hands around for emphasis as Zuko looked at the ground. "And the worst is, I _warned _you. I saw you sitting on that hill with Toph and I stumbled all the way up there to _warn _you to take it easy and think extra hard. And you promised me you would! And then afterwards you…"

She suddenly stopped stock-still, and her eyes widened. Zuko looked at her in confusion as she turned to face him, her face suddenly pale.

"You were on the hill with Toph," she said in a slightly dazed voice. "And two hours later you were the one to carry her up to bed. After that you and Sokka played that stupid game with the wineskins… You never would have left Toph drunk and alone outside. That means you'd have had six minutes to drunkenly find Mai and…" She looked him directly in the eyes. "Oh Agni: the child isn't yours…"

His hand was suddenly over her mouth, and his face looked desperate.

"Don't talk so loud!" he hissed at her, throwing a nervous glance over his shoulder. "You can tell _nobody _about this, do you understand?" His voice was commanding, and his eyes were burning fire.

She stepped away from him. "Why didn't you _tell _anybody?" she asked quietly. "All those people think that you…"

"I know." Zuko ran a hand down his face tiredly. "But it's better than the alternative." He looked at her seriously. "Do you have any idea what would happen to Mai if people find out she cheated on me? Drunk or not, her actions would have serious consequences. Even more so because she's not sure who the real father is. She'd be ridiculed and tried and her entire family could lose their nobility status because there's nobody to wed her… Katara, she could even be _banished._"

His eyes pleaded for her to understand, and her gaze turned sympathetic as she touched his arm lightly.

"So you're going to pretend it's your child?"

He nodded. "Things are still bad, but I'm the Firelord so she won't get into so much trouble." He sighed. "I'm disappointed and mad at her for what happened but… I still love her too much to let anything happen to her. And the child… It did nothing wrong. It deserves to have a stable home…"

Katara wrapped her arms around him as she heard the catch in his voice. She could only imagine how difficult it was for him. He was enduring ridicule and threats because of a child that he knew was not his.

"Do your mom and uncle know?"

He shook his head. "They suspect, but they don't have concrete proof." He looked her in the eyes again, molten gold to soft blue. "Please don't tell anybody. Not even Aang."

She nodded, promising with her eyes. Some of the tension left his body and face and they both sat down on the grass together, watching the stars.

"I'm sorry I was so mean to you," she whispered after a while.

He gave her a half-smile. "It's okay. If I was the father, I'd have deserved it."

"No," she disagreed. "not all of it; I went a bit overboard. I was just so shocked and angry… I don't know why but I felt as though you'd betrayed me again. I was always so sure that you would be the last one to have a child out of marriage and then the news came…" She was silent for a while. "And I guess I was a bit jealous, too."

"I was so sure you'd start a family before I did," he agreed. "You'd be the perfect mother."

A smile twitched at her lips at the compliment. "I want to start a family as soon as it's right but…" She suddenly looked as if she'd said too much, and bit her lip.

"Hey, come on. I told you my deepest, darkest secret. So out with it." He elbowed her for added effect.

A sigh escaped her lips. "Aang is just… so young. Not only in years but in soul too. Yes, most say it's his duty to repopulate the Air Nomads but… He won't be doing anything like that for quite a few years, I don't think."

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. And it was honest sympathy: denying Katara one of the things she was naturally good at was almost a sin.

"It's okay." A teasing smile crossed her face. "In the meantime I'll just take out my motherly instincts on my niece or nephew and your child. Sokka is too clingy for me to worm my way in, but you'd better beware: next thing you know, I've taken over your role," she teased him.

"You're welcome to take over my role. Really." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

The smile vanished from Katara's face and eyes and she looked at him closely. Zuko swallowed hard and avoided her gaze.

"Zuko?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

"I'm going to be a father. Me. I know years don't make you more experienced but I'd hoped that by the time I had a child I'd have you guys and your experience to help me…"

"You're scared," she said in surprise.

"I'm not a father, Katara." His voice was harsh. "I don't have those instincts or that knowledge. I just… I'm not… I don't want to be like Ozai. I don't want to ruin that child's life or-"

"Stop it!" She shook his shoulder and he looked at her with a look so vulnerable it nearly broke her heart. "You are _not _Ozai. Do you hear me? You have a good heart and you will be a great father to that kid." He didn't look the least bit convinced. "And you won't have to do it alone. You have your mom and your uncle and Mai… And me."

Gold met blue and Zuko's face lost some of its pain as strength seemed to radiate from the Waterbender into him. A ghost of a smile twitched at his lips, and she smiled warmly back at him, squeezing his shoulder. She felt like she had to say something more, something that would erase all the fear from his eyes, but before she could open her mouth the door to the room opened again and a shard of light fell at her feet.

"Are you two friends again?" Toph asked them, leaning against the doorway with a smirk on her face. "Twinkles says he has something awesome to say, too."

The two made their way back into the warmth and light and noise, and they were greeted with happy smiles from all their friends. Aang spotted Katara and suddenly seemed to freeze. She shot him a questioning look but all he managed in return was a nervous smile. Then he took a deep breath and waved for silence. It took a while for everybody to realize that he wanted quiet and by the time everybody had stopped talking Aang was sweating quite a bit.

"Katara…" He swallowed loudly and nervously shifted under the gaze of everybody in the room. "Uhh… I…" He took another deep breath and then walked right up to her, staring her firmly in the eyes. "I love you," he said frankly. "And I want to be with you forever. Would you… Would you do me the honour of being my wife?"

To Katara's immense shock and surprise he pulled out a Water Tribe betrothal necklace. Its pendant was carved out of the customary blue stone and etched onto the face of it was an Air Nomad symbol backed by that of the Water Tribe. Katara could feel the lump in her throat rising.

"Aang…" She looked at him and he grinned, holding the necklace higher. A shaky laugh escaped her throat. "Yes," she whispered giddily. "I'd… yes!"

Aang scooped her up and kissed her, and the entire room broke out into loud applause. Zuko clapped along even though his hands suddenly and inexplicably felt like lead.

"Well. So much for Aang not 'doing anything like that for quite a few years'," he muttered to himself.

There was a snort right next to him and he looked down to find Toph gripping her cup of lemonade rather hard. She was staring at the ground with her jaw clenched and, unless he was very much mistaken, she was shaking slightly. Zuko shot a quick look at the newly engaged couple surrounded by squealing people and then looked back at the Earthbender.

"Want to go outside and throw numerous rocks at me?" he asked her quietly.

"Yes." Her teeth were grit. "Yes I do."

He took her drink from her hand and led the way out to the silent and dark night.

-x-x-x-

Zuko had become very good at keeping a neutral expression over the years, yet even so he found it difficult to mask his surprise. He hadn't seen the man bowing nervously at his feet for years, and he couldn't for the life of him figure out what he wanted a private meeting for.

_Unless it was about me attacking him_, Zuko thought with a slight wince. All he needed now was more bad publicity.

"Rise, Ruon-Jian," he said calmly, and the man climbed nervously to his feet.

For a few moments he just stood there, playing absently with his- in Zuko's opinion- ridiculously long hair, before he finally seemed to get the nerve to start.

"I'm sorry to take up your time, Firelord Zuko. I know you've gotta be busy… and stuff… but uhm…" He was now clutching his hands together tightly, and was looking everywhere but at Zuko. "I… we've met before," he started again weakly.

"Yes, I remember. I'm… sorry I pushed you into that vase." He wasn't really, but he had to say something to try and fix the situation quickly.

"Oh, no problem. Turns out it was a fake anyway." Ruon-Jian assured him, bowing his head as an afterthought. "If I had any idea who you were… I uh… Well I wouldn't have flirted with your girlfriend… Or called you a…" He seemed to run out of steam again.

Zuko frowned. "If it's not about the… incident… at Ember Island, then why are you here?"

Ruon-Jian flinched, as if that question was the one he'd hoped Zuko wouldn't ask. He took another deep breath then stood up straight, suddenly facing whatever he was so nervous about head-on, like noblemen should.

"I have family here in the Capitol," he said in a stronger voice. "We have this really great house that overlooks the… Er… Yeah well I came to visit them several months ago, and I'm back now. When I arrived here I heard… some news…" He faltered again and Zuko's eyebrow rose. "Th… The news about… Lady Mai's pregnancy…" Zuko leant forward without realizing, his body suddenly feeling cold. "I… I… thought… I…"

When it was clear the man could not go on, Zuko spoke up. "You heard about Lady Mai being pregnant and requested a private meeting with me. Why?" His voice sounded slightly dangerous.

"The child is not yours." It all came out in a rush, and Ruon-Jian almost trembled as the words left his mouth. Even with all his swagger Zuko could see that the confession scared him. "I thought…" He was suddenly bowing again, looking like the action was casing him great pain. "I thought you should know…"

"How… How do you know this?" Zuko asked in a strangled voice.

"Because he's the father."

Both sets of eyes flashed to the door at once. Mai stood in the frame, back straight and face grim.

-x-x-x-

The silence was so tense and thick it could have been burnt away with a single fireball. Zuko was tempted to try and melt it away, but he doubted leaping up and flinging fire everywhere would better the situation at all. He was seated in his private study with Mai on his left and Ruon-Jian on his right. Neither of them were looking at each other, and the nobleman looked like he'd been deflated.

"So." Their eyes turned to him. "Now that we know who the baby's father is"-Mai stuck her chin out proudly under the implied blame-"I have called a private meeting to decide what to do."

Ruon-Jian shifted but did not say anything, and Mai was as quiet as always. Zuko let his breath out through his teeth; it looked like he was going to be doing all the talking. He was used to being the calm voice of reason in awkward situations but no peace meeting had ever made his insides feel like they were being disintegrated by acid. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath.

"I think the best thing to do here is to let everybody voice what they think is the best line of action," Zuko continued, using the technique they usually employed at meetings. He was quite proud that his voice sounded calm. "Ruon-Jian, would you like to start?" The other man looked at him blankly with his hair flopping over one eye and Zuko bit back a groan of frustration. "Fine, _I'll _go first." He took another deep breath. "I'd be more than happy to keep this our secret. I'll continue to say the child is mine. I will marry Mai and look after them both. We can talk at a later stage to discuss if the child should ever be told about his true sire."

Ruon-Jian was silent for a moment, then he looked at Zuko for the first time. "I appreciate that, really. And I'm… honoured, I guess, that you'd cover my mistake when we… Well don't really like each other so much." He leaned back a little in his chair, trying to seem utterly at ease. "But it is _my _mistake… And my blessing, if Lady Mai will let me have it." Mai looked up in surprise, and their eyes met. "The first time I met you, I thought you were pretty," Ruon-Jian went on, now speaking directly to her. "But as I got to know you over the years I realized you were beautiful, inside and out. I know we were both drunk at that party and that what we did was… very dishonourable and wrong. But I am Ruon-Jian, and I do not back down from my responsibilities. I will marry you, Lady Mai, and I will raise my child to be the best nobleman or noblewoman this nation has ever seen."

Something was happening to Zuko's stomach. It felt like it was filled with cold lead and fireflies all at once. His heart was aching as it beat, and he had no idea why. He turned to Mai with dread in every inch of him, and as soon as he saw her face he felt everything drop away.

"Zuko." She was looking straight at him, and there was something wrong with her eyes. "You know I love you. I've loved you since we were kids and that will never really go away." He knew there was a 'but' coming, and he wanted to scream. "But none of us can deny that we've… we've grown apart and…" He could swear there were actual tears in her eyes.

"Mai…"

She took a deep breath and turned to Ruon-Jian. "May we speak alone, please?"

The man nodded and left rather quickly, seemingly relieved that he hadn't gotten into any serious trouble. Mai turned back to Zuko and her eyes connected with his as the door to the study closed firmly. What followed was possibly the worst conversation of Zuko's life.

-x-x-x-

Iroh and Ursa were in front of the welcoming committee as Appa landed in the Fire Nation Palace courtyard. Aang was the first to climb off, smiling despite the seriousness of their visit.

"General Iroh, it is a pleasure to see you again." Aang bowed to the old general.

"Welcome, Avatar Aang." Iroh bowed back. "Thank you for coming so quickly. I do regret having to call all of you over, but the situation in Ba Sing Se has reached a critical level, and we need all the help we can get."

"Don't worry, Pops," Toph said airily as she jumped to the ground. "Team Avatar will sort out those riots in double-quick time."

Ursa and Iroh both smiled, and the greeting continued. Katara watched Sokka help Suki off the bison, and then her eyes scanned the courtyard. It only took her three seconds to find him, standing still and formal a few paces away. She jumped off Appa, her new necklace swaying with her movement, and walked right past Iroh and Ursa. Everybody stared at her in surprise but before Aang could call after her she reached Zuko. For a second she stared at him, remembering the added bit about Mai at the end of Iroh's last letter.

Then, without warning or a single sound, she wrapped her arms around Zuko and hugged him as hard as she could. For a moment Zuko remained stoic, then his arms rose hesitantly, slowly, and he hugged Katara back, resting his head on her shoulder.

* * *

**AN: **Please tell me if Mai was too OOC- I have the most dreadful feeling she is, but I really don't know how to change it. So yes, I'm pleading for suggestions on how to make her IC again.

I'll post the next chapter as soon as I get ten reviews. That way I know some people actually enjoy it.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **Okay part 2! This was, strangely, the part I had the most fun with. It's also going to be the longest because I couldn't stop myself once I started. Sorry. This is also the chapter that contains the scene that spawned the entire fic. So it's pretty important. Again, I need reviews to say if I should take this fic down or post the last chapter. And I need help to get the characters back IC! The OOC-ness is making my eyes bleed. Ugh. Anyway, I hope somebody enjoys the chapter at least a little.

Shoutout to all of my reviewers- LOVE YOU GUYS! And a special word to ZarosKnight for some of the funniest reviews I've gotten in a while.

**Rating: **T+ again. Don't say I didn't warn you ;)

**Pairing: **ZUTARA! With hints of Kataang, Sukka, Maiko and Mai/ Ruon-Jian. (Mai-Jian?)

**Disclaimer: **Own nothing. This was written purely for my own enjoyment.

* * *

Part II

As usual there were no guards in the war room, but this time the Firelord was not seated at the levitated throne at the end of the vast room. Instead he was bent over the low table with the rest of the gang while Iroh pointed to a spread out map.

"The problem is that Ba Sing Se is inhabited by many different nations," the old general said. "As you know these differences caused many difficult riots over the past two years. We had thought peace was instilled in the city, but our sources bring us news that another large-scale riot is being planned."

Zuko was only half-listening; he'd heard all of it before. He would have been the one explaining all of this to Aang and the rest, but his uncle had requested that he do it as he had a plan of action, and the Firelord had agreed.

"Now this riot probably won't happen; the people in Ba Sing Se love peace too much. But we cannot take that chance." Iroh sighed. "We could just send in more troops to keep the peace, but I'm afraid that will just make matters worse. If the riot is to happen, it will definitely happen before the Winter Solstice. That means we have to keep an eye on Ba Sing Se for the next two months."

"How are we going to do it?" Aang asked, looking intrigued.

Iroh smiled. "Under-cover. Two of our number will go live in the city as refugees. Our sources inside the city walls will convey all the information to them, and they will be in the perfect place to quell the riot. If it does actually begin, that is."

"Ugh… Living in Ba Sing Se again? Count me out," Toph shuddered. "That place is worse than prison."

"It's gotten better now," Aang said fairly. "Besides, I doubt whoever goes will be living in the Upper Ring."

He looked to Iroh with a raised eyebrow, and the general bowed his head.

"No, unfortunately not. Whoever goes will be living in the Lower Ring. That is where all the information is. And its people do not know much about the world dignitaries: we have less chance of being recognised down there."

There was a knock on the door and everybody jerked toward the sound, surprised. Ursa came in leading an old man that Zuko recognised as the member of the Order of the White Lotus who had helped them escape to Ba Sing Se all that time ago. He bowed to both Zuko and Iroh.

"Grand Master Iroh invited me here to help get papers for the two who are leaving to Ba Sing Se. And to check that their story is believable enough."

"So. That raises the only question we haven't asked yet: who's going?" Sokka looked at everybody with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll go." Heads shot to Zuko in surprise. He kept his eyes on the map. "The people of the Lower Ring will recognise me. From before."

He looked at Iroh for a long while before his uncle nodded. A lot more passed in the look than anybody else could ever hope to understand.

"It will be easy for my nephew to blend back in," Iroh agreed, but there was a hesitant note to his voice, as if he doubted Zuko's will to do it. "I will talk to my friends in the city and arrange that our old employer take Zuko back."

"What's your story gonna be?" Toph asked, looking doubtful.

After a pause Zuko said, "I'll tell him my uncle died and that the rich man decided he didn't need me any more. I'll say when I was thrown back to the Lower Ring I met my companion, and that both of us are searching for jobs."

The White Lotus member nodded his head slowly, finding no fault with the story. "But who will your companion be?"

There was silence. Suki looked at Sokka, and the Water Tribe warrior shifted uncomfortably. Under normal circumstances he would have gone but with Suki pregnant… Aang opened his mouth thoughtfully but Katara beat him to it.

"I'll go." Aang looked at her in surprise, but she spoke directly to Zuko. "There are quite a few Water Tribe refugees in Ba Sing Se. I'll say that I came to the city looking for a better life and I was in the control gate when you were pushed in with me. We got talking and you told me you thought you knew where to get a job. We decided to join forces and find work together. Watch each other's backs."

"It would work," the White Lotus member nodded. "with one little adjustment."

"What adjustment?" Zuko frowned.

"People will be suspicious if you say you met and as friends you decided to travel together. But nobody will look at you twice if you say you are lovers."

Both Zuko and Katara's eyes widened at that. Toph started to snigger as she felt the horror in their heartbeats.

"Lovers?" Aang didn't look pleased. "They'd have to pretend to be… _together_?"

"It isn't as bad as you think," the man soothed hastily. "All they'd have to do is hug occasionally, touch one another's cheek or brush stray hair behind their ear… Little gestures that people can see and be satisfied with. But… er… they will have to sleep in the same room…"

The Firelord and the Waterbender looked at each other, both of their gazes calculating. Katara sighed and shrugged; she'd slept on the same flying bison as Zuko before, the same room wouldn't be much different. Zuko raised his one eyebrow and then turned to the man and nodded.

"But no kissing?" Aang stressed, looking from his fiancée to the Firelord and back.

"No kissing," he soothed as Zuko and Katara winced at the idea.

"Well then," Iroh beamed around the room and clapped his hands heartily. "That seems to be settled then. The Ba Sing Se mission will be taken on by Zuko and Katara. You two will leave in a day's time."

Katara caught Zuko's eye and he smiled reassuringly. And Katara, despite the knowledge of how much could go wrong, was reassured.

-x-x-x-

The night air was still and warm, letting the stars twinkle undeterred above him. Zuko sat by the edge of the turtleduck pond, a small piece of bread in his hands. He pulled a piece of the bread off and twirled it in his fingers, deep in thought. An impatient quack brought him back to the present and he smiled, tossing the food into the water just in front of the female.

She gobbled the morsel up quickly, but instead of demanding more her attention focused to Zuko's left. He looked around to see Katara making her was quietly to his side. He smiled in welcome and silently handed her a bit of bread. For a while they sat in silence under the stars, feeding the two turtleducks. When her bread was finished Katara sighed and tipped her head back to the heavens.

"Are you sure about the Ba Sing Se mission?" she asked him suddenly. "I know you know Iroh is capable of fulfilling your Firelord duties for two months but I'm not sure you'll be able to live without your country for that long."

"I'll be fine," he assured her. "I need this," he added quietly. She looked at him with an arched eyebrow and he sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I know this sounds cowardly but… I don't want to be here when she gets married or when…"

Katara squeezed his shoulder gently, her eyes full of sorrow.

"What happened?"

Her voice was kind and reassuring but also curious. All she knew was that the baby's father had come and that Mai was marrying him very soon. Zuko was silent, his eyes fixed on the bread he was tearing into smaller and smaller shreds. Then suddenly his shoulders slumped.

"The father of the baby came. And… it turns out she suspected him all along but just didn't want to say anything. We both know him."

"How? Is he one of your friends?" Her stomach clenched at the very idea.

"Not really. We met once, a long time ago. When the war was still on. His family owns a house on Ember Island and he was there when we were visiting. At the time his flirting with Mai was… Well, innocent, I guess. He just saw her as a pretty girl he'd met on the beach. But I still got really mad when he talked to her and… Yeah. I kinda lost it with him and pushed him into a vase."

Katara tried not to roll her eyes at that last part: she could imagine the irate Zuko very clearly.

"That was the last time I saw Ruon-Jian, and I almost forgot he existed." He paused, and his hands clenched. "Mai told me that she contacted him a while after the beach incident to apologise. He replied and they started communicating via letters, as friends. They met at parties both of their parents attended and apparently there was some harmless flirting between them when I wasn't around. Then came Bumi's party, where everybody got drunk and the harmless flirting turned into…" Katara gently prised his hands open in fear that he'd hurt himself.

"Then he realized the baby was his and took Mai away?" she guessed.

Zuko's face contorted slightly. "No. Then he realized the baby was his and came to confess to me. Mai beat him to the actual confessing part and I called a meeting to figure out what to do. I told both of them that the original plan could still be implemented: I'd still pretend the baby was mine. But he said… He said that if Mai wanted _he'd _marry her and raise his own child. Something about it being his mistake and his… _blessing_. And Mai… Mai told me about the past flirting and how she'd always suspected it might be him but that she didn't want to say anything. She said that she was sorry for lying but that she wanted to save… us. Then she said that she'd just been trying to deny the inevitable, that we'd grown too far apart and both changed too much… And she chose him."

There was silence. Katara was aware that her face showed how shocked she was, but she couldn't bring herself to change the expression. She literally had no idea what to tell him, and he kept his eyes on the water, his face hard as stone.

"I'm so sorry, Zuko," she finally whispered, hearing the catch in her own voice. "I'm so sorry."

He shook his head. "What's done is done. I just need to learn to live with it, now." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly. "I guess I will always love her, in a way. And I know it won't sting this much one day but for now… For now I'm going to take the excuse not to go to her wedding."

"Well… on the bright side now everybody knows you never slept with her," she said in a falsely cheery voice, trying to lighten the situation.

Some of the lines left Zuko's face. "Yeah. Now I get ashamed and pitying looks from my Council instead of dark ones." He turned to face her again, his face serious. "What about you? Are you sure you want to go to Ba Sing Se with me?"

Katara nodded firmly. "I'm sure. Aang and Toph are too conspicuous, Suki is too pregnant and Sokka deserves to stay with his wife. And besides, I need a change."

"How does Aang feel about his fiancée pretending be another man's girl?"

"He's not too happy," Katara admitted. "But he understands that it's important. And it's good for him too; it will give him time to decide if he's really ready for this."

"You don't think he is?"

"It's not that I don't think he hasn't thought it through… It's just… He's only fourteen. Whoever heard of a fourteen-year-old getting _married_? When I said yes I thought we'd wait at least two years before actually…"

Zuko's eyes widened and he gaped at her in shock. "He wants to get married _now_?"

She nodded glumly. "The wedding was set for two months' time. Now it has to be postponed and I'm hoping… I don't know. He said he doesn't want to wait but… I think he just doesn't know what else to do: marriage is the only direction our relationship can actually grow…" She sighed and fingered her new necklace.

"What did you do with your mother's necklace?" Zuko asked her suddenly.

She blushed guiltily and slowly drew out a long chain that had previously been hidden by her hair and dress. On the edge of the thin metal hung her mother's necklace.

"I couldn't bring myself to just stop wearing it," she mumbled, blushing.

"Earth Kingdom dresses have high collars; you'll be able to hide it easier in Ba Sing Se."

Katara beamed at him, the starlight making her eyes dazzle.

-x-x-x-

The streets of the Lower Ring were bustling with people as they made their way towards the teashop Zuko had once worked at. Some of the people didn't look friendly at all, and Katara found herself moving closer to Zuko. She could defend herself only with Waterbending and doing so would give them away at once. The reminder that she was basically powerless made her gulp.

Zuko glanced over to her at the sound, but turned away again when he was sure she was alright. He had been rather silent since they had reached the city the previous night, and she was sure he was missing his position of Firelord already. However, Zuko didn't complain at all, so she wasn't sure if she was right. They reached the door to the teashop and Zuko stopped, fiddling with his Earth Kingdom clothes nervously. Both of them were dressed in simple, ordinary attire, but Katara's dress was a lighter shade of green and more decorated than Zuko's tunic and pants.

"If he says no we're in deep trouble," Zuko muttered, looking slightly apprehensive.

"Your uncle assured us that he all but secured this job for us," Katara reassured him. "Trust him."

Zuko nodded slowly, then turned to look at her. "Remember our story. I'm Li. You met me at the gates to the Lower Ring and we fell in love almost at first sight."

She nodded. "I came from the Northern Water Tribe to start a better life," she recited. "My name is… uhm…" They both looked at each other, faces blank. They hadn't really thought up a name for Katara yet. "I guess we'll just wing it," she said after a while. "If worst comes to worst I'll use the name Hama; nobody will know her."

Wondering vaguely why she shuddered at the name, Zuko pushed open the door to the shop. For a while all he could see were customers, but then he spotted the owner and, taking a deep breath, started towards him with Katara hot on his heels. The storeowner turned around and nearly fell over when he noticed Zuko.

"Good gracious! _Li!_ What a surprise; I haven't seen you in years."

Zuko bowed to the man slightly, and Katara could see that a part of him hated the movement. "I'm sorry to just barge in like this, sir, but I need your help." He took a deep breath. "We're looking for a job and a place to stay, and I was hoping you would consider hiring me again."

"Well what a coincidence! My last server left only two days ago, and I'm looking for a replacement." He looked around expectantly, and his face fell. "But where is Mushi?"

"My uncle is dead," Zuko replied quietly. "When he died the owner of the teashop threw me back to the Lower Ring. We're in desperate need of a job." His teeth grit; he hated begging.

"Oh that is so sad!" Whether the man was sad for Zuko or sad that he would not regain his star tea maker, nobody knew. "But you said that you and somebody else needed…?" His eyes fell on Katara, and they widened. "Well! I see you found yourself a lady friend. Hmmm, Jin will be displeased…"

Katara frowned and shot Zuko a questioning look. Zuko winced.

"I'll tell you later," he muttered in a low voice. Then he turned back to the man. "Please, sir. I know I am not as good as my uncle, but I have learned from him. All I ask is a job and a living place for me and my… girlfriend… I promise we shall work hard." He bowed again.

"Hmmm…" The tea maker considered him closely. "Well I am looking for a worker, and you were diligent before… Alright, Li, you're hired. I shall give you the key to your apartment and you will both start tomorrow. I trust you still remember what time we open?"

Zuko nodded and the man went into the kitchen, returning with a bundle of clothes and a key. Both Zuko and Katara thanked him, and he smiled at the Waterbender quite widely, stating that he had no problem with her keeping her hair loose if she wanted. Zuko rolled his eyes but refrained from saying anything, and pretty soon they were making their way up to their new home. Katara was halfway up the stairs before she realized that the owner had not even asked for her name. That gave her more time to think one up.

"Wow." Zuko interrupted her thoughts and she turned to find him standing in the middle of their new apartment, staring. "It's the exact same place Uncle and I stayed in…"

"Yeah, I can see that," Katara said, raising her eyebrow as she noted a burn on the far wall.

Zuko winced. "In my defence I was sick," he said quickly. "And everybody believed the story of the fallen candle." Katara frowned at him. "What? They did!"

"No not that… You got sick?" The concept was rather foreign to her: Zuko _never _got sick.

He shrugged, looking uncomfortable. She waited for a moment but he did not elaborate. Apparently she was not going to hear about his illness.

"A lot happened to you here, didn't it?" she asked quietly. He looked around the room and nodded, sighing slightly. "Well, you're going to have to tell me one thing. No excuses."

He turned sharply to her, his face weary. "And what would that be?"

Katara smirked widely. "Who's Jin?"

-x-x-x-

Katara and Zuko quickly fell into a familiar pattern. When they woke up in the mornings Zuko would make them both a cup of tea and while she made breakfast he would train with his swords outside. Then they would head down to the shop, both wearing their uniforms, and the day of work would begin. Katara had nearly cried with mirth the first time she'd seen Zuko wearing an apron, and he had blushed blood red and had refused to speak to her for the rest of the day. He did, however, chase away three men who got a little too cosy with her while she was serving them.

As the days wore on she got better at balancing the cups and remembering orders, and Zuko's tea also increased in quality. It was still nowhere near as good as Iroh's, but it was much better than anything else in the Lower Ring. It was the combination of the good tea and the beautiful foreign waitress that brought more and more customers in by the day. The owner was very pleased at the rise in business, and even gave Katara and Zuko a raise. At the end of each day the owner left them to clean up, and when they were sure nobody was looking Katara used her Waterbending to speed up the process. Then she would go upstairs to make supper while he roamed the streets, looking for information about the riot. He'd come back for supper, and they'd talk for a while before heading off to bed.

It wasn't a very exciting life, especially since it was becoming less and less likely that the riot would take place, but Katara found some comfort in the routine. Zuko never complained, but she would catch him staring outside, and she knew he was wondering about his nation and his family. She missed her brother and friends too, but took comfort in the fact that they were safe.

Both of them were very surprised at the lack of suspicion surrounding them. Nobody seemed to look twice at Zuko's scar, and Katara hadn't even been asked her name yet, not even by the storeowner. (This was probably a good thing, as she could not for the life of her decide which alias she wanted to assume.) In fact, everything ran completely smoothly until a week after they arrived, when a very special guest entered the store.

"Li! I don't believe it!"

"J… Jin! Uhm… hi…" Zuko looked panicked and he was frozen in place, gripping the tray rather tightly.

"I thought you'd moved up to the Upper Ring!" Jin was still beaming brightly.

"Uhm… We did… But… My uncle died and-"

"Oh no! Oh Li I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"

"Uh… Yeah… I'm fine… I…"

Katara saw his stuttering and decided to take mercy on him. _The great Firelord reduced to a stuttering fool by a single Earth Kingdom peasant_. She chuckled at the thought.

"Hi," she smiled at Jin, who immediately narrowed her eyes. "You must be Jin. It's nice to meet you."

"Oh… Yeah… Uhm Jin this is…" Zuko waved vaguely at Katara, searching for a name.

Luckily for them, the spirits still seemed to be on their side and Jin interrupted before they had to suck one out of thin air.

"Oh." Her smile had faded. "Are you two…?"

"We met and it kinda just… happened," Katara gushed, pretending to blush.

"How nice." Jin's smile was very fake.

"Li, why don't you go and make Jin a cup of tea?" Katara suggested, and Zuko zoomed away gratefully at once.

Jin did not return after that, and Katara could see Zuko was both relieved and slightly guilty. She did not press the subject; some things should not be teased about. For days after that life continued as mundane as it could be, and Zuko began to get restless. She was beginning to think up ways for him to release his frustrations when the men appeared in the store.

There were four of them, and they were big-built and filthy. As soon as they entered the shop the atmosphere tensed and people hurried out; everybody could tell they were trouble. Katara, however, was a Master Waterbender and they did not scare her in the least. So she walked up to them and asked for their order without a trace of fear in her eyes. They were pretty rude, as expected, but refrained from being vulgar. At first. It was when they were about to leave that they became rough and clingy. When Katara refused to go with them, one grabbed her. She began to panic: either she would have to let them take her or she would have to Waterbend and expose herself, and possibly Zuko.

It was at that moment that the Firelord interrupted, swords drawn. The group did not take kindly to his threats, and a fight broke out. Too late they both realized that all four were Earthbenders. And good ones, at that. Zuko held his own, chopping the rocks with swift movements and pushing the benders towards the door. But they were not honourable and when they realized they were losing, they started to play dirty. One grabbed a tablecloth from the nearest table and wrapped it securely around Zuko's head. Blinded, Zuko could not see the man who grabbed him from behind. His friend joined him and they each held one of his arms and their leader advanced, hammer in hand and a smirk on his face.

"Zuko!"

Katara couldn't keep the call of horror in as the man clubbed Zuko hard in the back. He crashed to the floor hard and for a long moment he didn't move, dazed and winded. Katara rushed forward to help him but some concerned customers held her back. Zuko began to push himself up, slowly, but a foot crashed down on the small of his back and sent him sprawling again. She caught sight of his face and knew with a sinking heart that he was on the verge of Firebending the men to an inch of their lives, no matter the consequences.

Luckily for them some customers had run to fetch some of the new guards of Ba Sing Se, and they came in and apprehended the men, after a pretty long and cuss-filled battle. Most of the customers followed them out but Katara rushed to Zuko's side, helping him up and into a chair.

"Are you okay?" She was anxious, even as he nodded, wincing slightly. "Do you need me to heal you upstairs?" she asked in a very low voice.

"No, I'm okay," he told her, rolling his shoulders very slightly. "Those idiots would have been beaten if they'd fought fair," he growled, as though she'd openly questioned his skill.

"Is Li alright?" the storeowner asked Katara worriedly.

"I'm fine," Zuko answered with a growl as Katara opened her mouth. "It's nothing."

The storeowner did not go away, and instead frowned deeper, seating himself in a chair opposite Zuko.

"Uh…" He seemed unsure on how to begin. "During the fight…" He looked at Katara. "You called him Zuko…"

Both their hearts sank as ice flooded their veins. Katara gulped, her mouth suddenly dry as she realized her horrible mistake. She'd thought she was too far back in the store for anyone to hear her, but the storeowner had obviously been behind her, standing in the kitchen doorway. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

"Ugh… Yeah…" Zuko shot her a disapproving look. "I told her not to call me that in public… It's embarrassing, you know," he added to her, sounding sulky.

The storeowner and Katara both blinked at him in surprise.

"Uh… I don't think I follow?" the man said, and Katara silently agreed with him.

"Oh it's a little nickname she has for me. I told her to only use it in private, though."

He shot Katara a look and she caught on. "Yeah he's embarrassed because it means… Sugar Dumpling. In Water Tribe."

Zuko glared at her, the tips of his ears reddening slightly, and Katara fought down the urge to laugh. Oh he was not going to let her get away with this…

"Water Tribe, you say? I wasn't aware they had a language…" The man seemed stunned.

"It's very ancient," Katara supplied quickly. "Nobody uses it any more. In fact, very, very few even know about it," she added truthfully.

"Well isn't that something… Er… How do you spell that nickname?"

"Uhm… Z… OO… K… O… U…" Zuko raised his eyebrow at her, but she ignored him.

"Zookou… That's very interesting… Does your name have any special meaning?" Then it finally hit him, and he frowned. "I'm sorry, but I don't even believe I know your name… I believe I've heard Li call you Katana?"

"It's Katara, actually. Unfortunately," Zuko said at once, and she shot him a dangerous look.

"Why unfortunately?"

"It's a very common Water Tribe name," Zuko said, rolling his eyes for effect. "I called her name once and at least five girls came up to me. It's going to be a pain if we get married: Li and Katara could be a million people."

The storeowner laughed and, pacified, returned to the few customers that were left. Katara scowled at Zuko.

"Common? My name is very special and unique, thank you very much."

"I had to say _something_," Zuko defended with a scowl. "Zookou? Seriously?"

"I think it was pretty good for thinking under pressure. Though it's a good thing he didn't ask again what my name meant…"

"Huh. I would have been able to answer him. It means _annoying_."

She shoved punched him on the shoulder, scowling.

"Oh just get back to work, Sugar Dumpling."

For the next hour Katara kept an eye on Zuko to make sure he was alright. He moved a little stiffer than usual, but never did a wince cross his face and so she let him be. Zuko, on the other hand, knew Katara was watching and he kept an expressionless face stubbornly; it was bad enough that he'd been beaten. When Katara finally focused solely on work again, he allowed himself to lean over the table when he had nothing to do to try and alleviate the growing throbbing in his lower back. As the hours wore on the pain got worse and by the time the shop had to close for the night he had to work very hard to keep a wince off his face.

Katara seemed to have forgotten about the fight, and the absence of her hawk-like gaze made it easy for him to sink, unnoticed, into chairs while they closed up for the night. When she called to him that she was just finishing up and that he could go on ahead he jumped at the opportunity to be on his bedroll before she could see how he was limping. But the spirits were not on Zuko's side that night and it was just as he was hobbling up the stairs to their apartment, wincing and rubbing his back, that Katara spotted him.

"Zuko?" Her voice was soft and alarmed and he cursed profusely in his mind. "You _are _hurt! Why didn't you say something?"

With a disapproving look she slung his arm gently over her shoulders and, ignoring his protests, helped him to their room. Reaching it she lowered him gently onto his bedroll (which was made more clumsily than her own one at the other side of the room) and stood up to fetch some water.

"Wait!" Zuko caught her arm, wincing slightly at the jarring motion. "It's too risky. It's too open and public here; if someone sees you we're done for."

She bit her lip, then tugged at his shirt. "Let me see it," she demanded, and he complied with a scowl.

She gently tossed his shirt to the side, refusing to look at his toned abdomen, and then gently made him lie down on his stomach. Her breath caught at the sight: his back was bruised badly in a few places, especially at the bottom where one of the biggest bruises she'd ever seen lay. And she was sure that even the places that weren't marred by the bruises were sore; he'd been hit hard.

"I can't just leave you like this…"

"It's fine." His voice was muffled by the pillow. "In the morning it'll be better."

"You know that's not true." She sighed. "At least let me massage you; it'll get rid of some of the pain."

"I don't need- Aaaah…"

"Sorry!" She quickly removed her hands from his back, wincing at the moan. "I didn't mean to hurt you…"

"…You didn't…" There was a tinge of shame to his voice. "That just felt… Really good…" She could tell he hated admitting it.

A smile slowly made its way across Katara's face, and she lowered her hands to his back again, beginning to rub the skin in strong, circular motions. Zuko made a little noise as she massaged, but this time she could tell it was not a noise of pain. A smirk crossed her face.

"Who knew you had a weakness so simple?" she teased.

Zuko stiffened and began to push himself up. "I don't-! Aaaaaaah…"

At the second moan Katara felt her smirk grow even wider, and she rolled up her sleeves to have better control. It was quite amusing to see Zuko submit to her by just moving her thumbs around a bit. And the amusement doubled when she realized how much he must hate admitting how much he enjoyed it. She massaged his whole back, biting back giggles every time he moaned, and when she was done her hands were aching.

"Does you back feel better?" There was silence, and she leaned forward. "Zuko?"

He was fast asleep. A genuine smile crossed Katara's face as she pulled a blanket over him. She stood up and watched his peaceful face for a moment before she headed to her own bedroll. As she fell asleep she decided not to tease him too much about his quick surrender to her hands.

-x-x-x-

The next day found Zuko still limping, but less so. Katara kept a close eye on him all day, and so she saw how his pain increased as the day wore on. That night when they reached their apartment Katara made supper before offering to massage him again. He refused quite vehemently, but his refusals disintegrated as her fingers began to massage his back. Finally he gave right in and lay down again on his stomach while she worked, smirking every time she got a reaction from him. This time he managed to stay awake, though it was barely.

From then on a new component was added to their daily schedule. Katara still made supper while Zuko roamed the streets for riot information, but after supper they talked less and used some of the conversation time for massaging. Zuko was past attempting to pretend he didn't want the massages, although he still despised his 'show of weakness', as he was convinced it was. Katara didn't tease him too much about it, as she had begun to enjoy the massages as much as he did. Every time he let out a moan a flash of almost unexplainable pleasure and satisfaction ran through her. And with the satisfaction came smirks that were even harder to explain, but just as easy to accept. But as the days wore on, Zuko got good at keeping silent as she massaged, which made Katara frustrated.

Finally she resorted to almost desperate measures: she shuffled closer to him and nearly straddled him in her attempt to get more power into her hands. Her actions caused her to blush quite profusely but she was rewarded almost at once. Zuko both moaned and tried not to moan, and the result was a high gurgling sound that made Katara laugh.

"That was cute," she sniggered.

Zuko sat up at once, a scowl on his face as he glared at her. They were very close to each other, so she could see the exact way his eyes sparked in embarrassment and pride.

"You would react the same way," he growled at her.

She scoffed. "Yeah, right."

Zuko was behind her almost instantly and his fingers made their way to her back. The sensation was nice, but it wasn't near enough to make her moan.

"Maybe you're just not as good as me," she said smugly.

"No," he replied firmly. "You just have a different weak spot."

He moved up to her shoulders and Katara had to admit that it felt really good to be massaged there. But still no sound escaped her mouth. She could feel Zuko glowering.

"Yours must be on your neck then," he muttered, moving his fingers up.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Zuko. Just admit that- Aaaaah…"

She broke off with a moan as Zuko's fingers pressing on her neck sent her body into shocks of pleasure. It was like he had touched a nerve directly, and Spirits did it feel _good_.

"Found your weak spot," he said smugly in her ear.

Katara blushed and scowled heavily.

"No you didn't! You hurt me, you big bully. It had nothing to do with… Mmmm…"

Zuko had begun to massage her neck again, and she couldn't deny that it felt really, really good. Her skin was tingling and shivering at the same time, and she vaguely admired him for being able to keep silent; the sensations seemed to draw out some form of vocal appreciation whether one wanted to make a sound or not.

"Now you can't use my back against me," Zuko sniggered, his breath on her ear making her shiver again. "Because now I have my own weapon to use against you."

"Fine," she sighed. "It's a truce then."

She let her eyes slide closed, unable to summon enough embarrassment and pride to try and fight him any more. Zuko rubbed her neck with a firm gentleness that made her understand how he could have fallen asleep the first night; it was heaven.

"You know, there's one thing I don't understand," Zuko said suddenly.

"Mmmm?" She rolled her head to the side to give him easier access.

"How could you not have known your neck is your sensitive spot? Hasn't Aang ever kissed it?"

"No, actually he hasn't," she mumbled, feeling the blush stain her cheeks.

"Really?" He was surprised.

"Yeah. I've had kisses on the lips, the cheek, the hand and even the forehead. But never the neck."

Zuko did not pursue the subject, and she was grateful.

Their schedule took another small change after that: they added Zuko massaging Katara to the list. Now the Waterbender could not laugh at Zuko's moans, because he drew similar sounds from her right afterwards. But she still found the same satisfaction every time she got him to break his silence, and she wondered if he felt the same rush every time she allowed a groan to escape her lips.

Then, after they had been living in Ba Sing Se for just over a month, Katara realized she was getting the worse end of the deal. She was putting her all into massaging Zuko, but he was barely putting half of that into massaging her.

"If I press any harder I'll choke you," he told her in an irritated voice when she called him out on it.

"Well… Isn't there another way to massage a person's neck? With… I don't know… rocks or _something_?" She was half teasing and half pleading.

Zuko hesitated, and his eyes became weary. He looked at her cautiously, and she felt herself becoming curious.

"There is… one other way I can think of… But I don't think you'll like it…"

"Don't knock it till you try it," she told him brightly.

He swallowed, looking so nervous she wanted to laugh. Then, slowly and cautiously, he moved over to her and moved his hands up to her neck. He rubbed the skin with that same gentle firmness that she knew and she smiled in contentment. But she was still waiting for this new way that had him so nervous, and he knew it. He took a deep, almost calming breath and suddenly bent his face towards her. She was about to ask him what the hell he was doing when he bit her neck.

In the first few seconds shock and outrage filled her body- what the _hell _was he thinking? No wonder he'd looked like she would beat his butt! This was just _preposterous_!- but then her shocked brain caught up with what the nerves in her neck were telling her, and a moan escaped her lips as realization struck: it felt good. Darn good. Zuko lifted his head and looked at her cautiously. She didn't answer but instead tipped her head to the side to expose her neck, blushing at what was happening. A part of her was dying from awkwardness and embarrassment and the other half was dying from anticipation.

It continued like that for another week. It would start out with Katara sitting next to Zuko and massaging his back and it would end with Katara almost on top of him grinding into his back. Then it would move on to Zuko massaging her neck, and it would end with him biting her, gently enough to never cause a bruise. They never spoke of it, but as night approached they would sometimes catch each other's eye and grin with the tinge of embarrassment. They hardly ever spoke during the massages either, although the occasional smug laugh or giggle was inevitable. There was sometimes guilt and the question to whether it was wrong, but they both could not find anything wrong with it. And so the shy and silent nightly massages continued.

One night it all changed. Zuko was massaging Katara's neck when suddenly he bent his face to her neck. But instead of nipping her, he nuzzled her. The action was a lot softer than his teeth, but somehow it made her shudder just as much and a whimper left her lips. Zuko chuckled against her neck, his breath warm and welcome. Something started stirring in Katara; a strong desire she had never felt before. And before she could stop and examine it, her body was acting of its own accord. She was, instead of tipping her head to the side for Zuko, tipping her face up to his. And suddenly her lips were on his and the world was exploding in heat and fireworks.

He froze for all of half a second and then he was kissing her back, and the part of both of their minds that was screaming at them to stop was ignored. Their inner voices must be misinformed: how could this be wrong when it felt so _right_? For a long while the two of them kept their teeth closed as they kissed, but then the wall was breached and Katara was having her first real kiss with tongue. Zuko allowed her swollen lips some recovery time and instead kissed her along her jaw and then, with a devilish grin, along her neck. She groaned and evened the playing field by massaging his back as he kissed her.

How long they sat together on his bedroll they didn't know, but eventually the fire simmered down into a glowing coal and they both lay down on the mat. The kisses turned soft and chaste again, and before she knew what was happening, Katara was falling asleep in Zuko's arms.

-x-x-x-

The first rays of the sun fell on Zuko's bare arm and it roused him. Usually he left the room silently without waking Katara: he knew she did not like rising with the sun like he did. But this morning as soon as he moved she stirred, as her head was resting solely on his arm. Both pairs of eyes flickered open at the same time, and it was the sight of each other that became their first sight of the day. They both froze as memories rushed back to them, and a dark blush crept up Katara's face, neck and ears. She could feel her heart begin to pound ferociously and she swallowed, slowly sitting up. Zuko did the same, looking at her cautiously. Neither knew what to say, and the silence stretched on, becoming heavier with each second.

Both of them prepared to speak, saw that the other was about to talk and shut up. Then they just sat and stared at each other, hair askew, eyes still full of sleep, fear and embarrassment. None of them knew who moved first, but suddenly their lips were entwined again, and the feeling of rightness returned. Zuko's hands wove into her hair and messed it up even further, causing her to growl in annoyance. He just smirked and nipped her neck in a place he knew was tender. She sighed and melted into his arms, forgetting everything except the moment.

Abruptly Zuko pushed her sideways so she flopped onto the bedroll with him directly on top of her. He kissed her from her hairline slowly down to her lips, and she couldn't help but giggle at his playfulness. It was a side of him that she had not seen before, but that she was not surprised by. Maybe she had always known it was there, hidden beneath layers of guard. Her fingers, seemingly on their own accord, made their way down his back and to the hem of his shirt. She grabbed the hem and started to pull the shirt upwards, towards his head. Halfway there her fingers touched his skin, and they were so cold that he jerked up and suddenly seemed to realize where he was and what was happening.

His lips left Katara's and he propped himself on his arms above her, looking down with wide, shocked eyes. She stared back, panting and on fire, dread and horror washing through her as realization after realization struck. She had been kissing _Zuko._ Firelord Zuko. In a hired apartment in Ba Sing Se. On his bedroll. And her fingers had been… Her heart began to pound faster with something other than fear as he slowly leant in towards her.

Then, so suddenly it left her blinking, Zuko was gone. She sat up to see him backing away with wide eyes. They stared at each other, blue to gold, for a long moment. Then Zuko bent down, picked up his shirt, and left the room. Katara swallowed and let her head fall back down to the pillow. Suddenly her betrothal necklace seemed to weigh more than a house. Guilt added to its weight by the minute until she felt like it was choking her. She was no fool. She knew exactly what would have happened if they'd continued to kiss. She knew what he would have done after she'd removed his shirt. And she knew what they would have both allowed to happen after that.

When the storeowner asked her why Li had left with such a peculiar look on his face that morning, Katara could only shrug. As the day wore on and he did not return the man started to get a knowing look on his face. And when, four days later, Sokka turned up stating that he was Hahn, the lover Katara had left Li for, the storeowner accepted it without any question.

Sokka told her in private that Zuko had arrived back at the Fire Nation, telling them all he couldn't stand slumming it in Ba Sing Se a minute longer. Katara agreed that this was the reason he'd given her before he left, but in her heart she knew for certain that Firelord Zuko had gone because if he had stayed they would have ended up doing something that they shouldn't. She had missed Sokka a lot, and he filled Zuko's information-seeking roll well, even if he did lament after Suki almost constantly. But she still felt empty, and she missed the massages with all her heart.

* * *

**AN: **Whoo 7696 words! Probably the longest chapter I've ever written! Feel privileged! Or disgusted, if you hated it. Please review and tell me how to improve! I beg you! And thanks for reading =)


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: **So here's the final chapter. I'm very sorry this took so long but the exams were worse than I'd thought they would be. Thanks for sticking it out all the way to the end, I really and honestly do appreciate it. Once again, I need reviews to tell me what to change: I want this to be as good as it possibly can be. I must warn you that the ending is kinda cliché. But what else do you expect from me? Lol.

**Note: **Some things in the previous two chapters have been changed thanks to the critique of sableambiguity. The story stayed basically the same, though, so don't worry. I just thought you should know that some of the finer detail has been refined.

**Rating: **T

**Pairing: **Zutara, Sibling!Toko and Sukka. Hints of Mai/ Ruon-Jian, Kataang and Taang.

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own Avatar. If I did… Well, something tells me you should pray Bryke gets to keep it xD

* * *

Part III

No matter what she did, Katara could not get herself to calm down. Her fingers refused to stay still as she paced up and down the room she was staying in on Kyoshi Island. She stopped to check if her hair was still alright, and grimaced as she caught sight of how wide and excited her eyes were. Gritting her teeth she forced herself to stand still and take a deep breath.

The others would all put her jumpiness down to pre-wedding jitters. After all, her big day was tomorrow. But she knew in her heart of hearts that she was not brimming over with excitement because tomorrow she'd be the Avatar's wife. No, she was hyped up because today, at her and Aang's pre-wedding party, she would see Zuko again. It had been three months since he had left her in Ba Sing Se, and since then she had not caught so much of a glimpse of him. A part of her was screaming in guilt, but that part was shrouded out by the pure longing and anticipation that was coursing through her veins.

She had to calm down. She was sure that Zuko would see the excitement in her eyes for what it really was, and that would just cause more problems. Not only that, but she was very sure the perceptive Toph would figure it out and that just _could not _happen. Aang didn't even want to have this party, after all. It was Water Tribe tradition to throw the bride and groom a party before their wedding day. It was apparently their last chance to have fun before settling down, but Katara knew it was just a chance for the guests to make the couple do outrageous things. At Sokka and Suki's party the two had been made to dress up in rotting seaweed and dried jerky. It was fun for the guests, but horrible for the two of them and Aang didn't want that happening to him. But he respected Katara's traditions and finally gave in, but not before laying down one or two rules of his own.

One of these rules had been that Katara had to invite everybody to both the wedding and the party. And by 'everybody' he meant Mai. Katara was _not _pleased by the idea, but Aang was firm and eventually she'd given in and asked the noblewoman when she saw her at Ember Island while she was on a brief visit there. At first she'd just focused on cooing to Mai's daughter who, she admitted rather grudgingly, was beautiful. But eventually she couldn't stall any longer and she'd grit her teeth and asked straight out. To her immense relief Mai had to decline: she and her husband already had plans for that entire week. Aang had disapproved at her obvious relief, and she didn't have the heart to tell him that it wasn't just because of her dislike for the girl for leaving Zuko that she didn't want Mai to come. Instead, her reasoning was more along the lines of her not wanting to put Zuko through any more pain or temptation.

"Are you ready?"

Suki was standing at the door and beaming as she looked Katara over. The Waterbender laughed and twirled around so her loose light blue dress twirled. Suki giggled and then held out her hand, leading Katara outside where a palanquin of sorts waited, surrounded by the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors. Katara was led onto the palanquin and all the Warriors, except Suki, picked up the corners and began to carry Katara to where the party was. Katara had wanted to hold her party, at least, at the Southern Water Tribe, but Suki was highly pregnant by now and could not travel. Not wanting to do anything without her sister-in-law, Katara had agreed to hold the party and the wedding on Kyoshi Island. The rest of the Warriors had enthusiastically taken to the challenge, and Katara was pleased with her decision.

She was carried to a large open space that overlooked the beach and she had to stifle a gasp at the wonder of it all. There were lanterns and flowers everywhere, as well as large rock formations that she was sure Toph had created. It looked beautiful, and she felt her heart warm with thanks. The rest of her party guests saw her coming, and they began to cheer. Then another palanquin came into sight, this one carried by men. Sokka, right in front of Aang's palanquin, waved at his sister with a grin. Katara waved back enthusiastically. After he'd spent three weeks away from his pregnant wife to quell a riot that never happened Sokka had stuck to Suki like glue, meaning she hadn't seen her brother for ages.

Both palanquins reached the platform that had been set up for them, and Katara and Aang got out, grinning at each other.

"Yeah! Now the fun begins!" Toph hollered, a grin so evil on her face that Katara's heart plummeted.

The first thing they were made to do was drink five glasses of the most disgusting liquid Katara had ever tasted. Halfway through their final glass they were told, by a laughing group of Kyoshi, that it was elephantkoi mucus. Aang went almost as green as the girls' robes. And so the obstacles went on, some gross, some stupid and some actually quite fun. It was in the middle of a game that required Katara and Aang to sit on hammocks made entirely from grass that Toph's head jerked around.

"Sparky!" she yelled in delight.

Katara looked up and felt her heart stop beating. He was there. He was wearing casual clothes and his gold eyes were light as he smiled at Toph's greeting. Then he looked up, straight at her, and her heart went into overtime. She noticed Toph frowning at her and she immediately drew her feet into the hammock so the Earthbender could not feel her vibrations. For another long moment Zuko looked at her, then he broke eye contact to greet Suki, who was delighted that he'd kept his hair short. Katara let out a shaky breath and rested her forehead on her knees. She had to stay away from him. What had happened was wrong. She was marrying Aang. Zuko had to remain a friend, and a friend only.

A hand rested on her shoulder. "Are you alright, child?"

"I'm fine, Gran Gran," she smiled. "I just got a little woozy from that elephantkoi concoction."

Her grandmother smiled, seeming pacified, and squeezed her shoulder. Then she clapped her hands, and silence fell amongst the guests. Hakoda stood up and walked over to his mother and daughter, a twinkle in his eyes. Kanna chuckled, and then squatted down beside Katara. Without warning she began to tap a rhythm on the ground, and Katara suddenly knew what was coming. It was an old tradition in her tribe that the daughter had to be fought for. Every person who wanted her hand in marriage had to do something to impress the girl's father, and at the end he would choose the one he thought was most worthy. Obviously Hakoda would choose Aang, but that didn't mean other boys couldn't have playful fun prancing around and showing off. And after their little performances, they each got to kiss Katara once, something she was rather dreading.

"I am Chief Hakoda!" her father began in a loud voice, raising his hands. "And this is the pride and joy of my soul: my daughter Katara." There were cheers. "She is beautiful and she is strong, and she deserves only the best warrior the spirits can provide!" Sokka let out a whoop of agreement. "So who thinks that he can claim her? Who dares try?"

For a moment there was silence, and then Haru stepped forward, raising his hands impressively.

"I do!" he called to Hakoda, grinning at Katara's shocked face. "I am Haru, a son of earth, and I shall fight for your daughter!"

He sprang forward and began to Earthbend, swirling rocks impressively over his head as he leapt around, quick as a deer. The crowd began to cheer him on and he got bolder: the rocks got bigger and the moves got more dangerous. Finally he sank to a bow before Hakoda, breathing hard.

"Well done, son of earth. You may claim a kiss."

Haru grinned and sauntered up to Katara. He winked at her, then kissed her swiftly on the lips. She tasted seafood and something spicy that she could not place, and his moustache scratched her face. It was not a pleasant kiss at all, but she managed not to grimace as he walked away. She did, however, hear her grandmother attempting to stifle a laugh next to her.

"Who dares come next?"

"I dare!" Sokka hollered, springing into the open space between the crowd and his family with a grin. "I am Sokka of the Water Tribe, and I am here to defend my sister's honour! If I win the favour of my father then _nobody _is allowed to marry her!"

"Proceed, brave son of water!" Hakoda laughed, and Sokka drew his sword.

He began to spar with an imaginary opponent, his feet light yet sturdy and his movements swift. Katara glanced over to Suki and saw the pride and love in her eyes as she watched her husband perform. Sokka motioned to Toph, and she bended a rock at him, which he deftly cut into small pieces to much applause. Then he bowed to his father.

"Well done, Warrior of water. You may claim a kiss."

Katara pretended to be cross as Sokka came towards her and gave her a hug.

"If you're the reason I don't get married I will kick your butt," she warned jokingly.

"Nah Dad won't do that: he's too scared of you and Gran Gran. I just wanted to liven up your claiming ceremony, that's all."

"Yeah, because _you _had it easy. All _you _had to do was spar with Bato and Dad to win Suki's approval. _You _didn't have to be kissed by random guys you don't know."

Sokka only laughed and placed a kiss on her forehead before returning to Suki, who beamed lovingly at him. Hakoda raised his hands again, but before he could utter a word another man pushed his way to the front of the crowed. Katara nearly fell off the hammock in shock. Standing in front of her father was the guy Katara only knew by the nickname Sokka had given him: The Foaming Mouth Guy. At that instant he was _not _foaming at the mouth, but the memory of what extreme excitement did to him made Katara cringe back. Surely, _surely_, he was not going to try…?

"I am here to claim your daughter too!" he exclaimed with a friendly wave to Katara.

Hakoda raised his eyebrow sceptically but then gave the guy the go-ahead. What followed was the worst excuse for a dance Katara had ever seen. It was a mixture of Sokka on Cactus Juice, an animal having an epileptic fit and a flower being tossed viciously by the wind. The people watching were either doubled up with laughter or staring with wide-eyed, dumfounded shock. Katara was part of the latter group, and she could feel her mouth hanging open. The man skidded to a stop on his knees, his hands raised and his face turned to the heavens.

"Er… Well done, son of…" Hakoda seemed unable to decide what element he belonged to. "You may… claim a kiss."

He gave his daughter an apologetic shrug as the man dusted off his pants and practically hopped over to where Katara was sitting. Her eyes were still large as she watched him approach. He beamed at her.

"You're so lucky! Marrying the Avatar! The _AVATAR!_"

She gave him a slightly apprehensive smile, but he didn't seem to notice. Suddenly he swooped down to kiss her, and missed her lips by about an inch. Katara was surprised, but not disappointed at all. As he sauntered back to the crowed he waved energetically at Aang, who had tears of laughter in his eyes. Katara didn't know whether to laugh or cry in mortification.

"Are there any other… gentlemen… who wish to fight for my daughter?" There was barely suppressed laughter in Hakoda's voice, and Katara flushed. "Nobody?"

The chief's eyes scanned the crowed before they focused on Aang. He jerked his head and the Avatar slid off his hammock, getting ready to give the best display of bending in the world to win his girl. But before he could take more than three steps there was a commotion at the back of the crowed.

"Wait! There's one more!"

"No, there isn't! Toph-! MPH!"

The people jumped aside hurriedly, and Zuko was deposited at Hakoda's feet by a ripple of earth. The Firelord glared over his shoulder at Toph, who just threateningly raised her hands again, ready to bend him into oblivion if he tried to escape. Zuko grit his teeth.

"Well, son of fire, are you going to fight for my daughter?"

Zuko stopped glaring over his shoulder and his eyes turned to Katara. She refused to look him in the eyes, and instead focused on a point just above his shoulder. Her mouth was suddenly dry and her heart was pounding. What was Toph thinking? Zuko couldn't fight for her! Zuko couldn't be a contender. He was just a friend. Just a friend. She prayed he would ignore Toph's warnings and back away.

"I will fight for her, chief of water," Zuko's quiet voice said.

Her eyes snapped to him as he climbed slowly to his feet. Disbelief, horror and other emotions she knew she was not supposed to be having spread through her body like floodwater. She glanced to see where Aang was, and found him standing in front of the crowed now, grinning happily at what he thought was just part of the game. Only she and Zuko knew that the Firelord had wanted his words to be true. He wanted to fight for her, and he wanted to win. However, they both knew that he would lose this battle.

"Proceed, son of fire! Make your stand."

Hakoda nodded to him, and Zuko returned the small bow. Then he took a deep breath and crouched into a Firebending form that Katara knew like the back of her hand. As she watched him crouch memories filled her mind of times long ago when they teamed up to spar against the other members of the gaang. They had won almost every time because they knew each other's rhythm and style. She missed feeling his assuring warmth on her back as she attacked and he defended. She missed his warm breath on her ear as they circled each other tightly to form an impenetrable wall of fire and water. She missed his smug smile when they were victorious. She missed his raw power surrounding her and making her feel safe instead of scared. She missed him.

Katara shut her eyes to block out the memories, but they snapped open again when fire turned her eyelids red. Zuko was magnificent. Awe was etched into every face, including hers, as fire spurted from his hands and feet. She could not place the form that he was doing, and so she assumed it was a mixture he was making up on the spot. Even so, he did not falter or make a single mistake. Aang was watching him in rapt attention, hungry to learn more from his teacher. But Zuko seemed unaware of the crowed as he moved, commanding fire as if it were nothing. His bending was awesome, inspiring, beautiful and deadly all at the same time and she felt herself wishing he would look at her so she could once again see the way his eyes burned when he gave the world his all.

_No. We can't look at each other. It will just make things that much worse. _

The Firelord suddenly stopped and raised his hands in an arch. The fire mimicked his movements and then crashed together above his head, forming a waterfall of fire that shimmered and roared harmlessly over his head. When it was done he lowered his hands and bowed his head to Hakoda.

"Well done, son of fire." Hakoda was impressed. "You may claim a kiss."

Her heart seemed to contract and swell at the same time, and the strange reaction left Katara breathless. Zuko made his way over to her, looking at Aang out of the corner of his eye. Katara followed his gaze and found Aang excitedly talking to Sokka and not paying attention to his fiancée and his Firebending teacher at all. Katara looked from Aang to Zuko at the same time his eyes flashed to her. Their gazes locked. And the world seemed to vanish.

His eyes were still burning from his Firebending, and she felt like she was being pulled into a deep hole. One she could drown in forever; one she didn't want to leave. She didn't care who was watching any more or about her wedding or even about the safety of the world. All there was was Zuko, and that was okay with her. She could barely breathe as Zuko reached her, and she realized her hands were shaking.

_Please, Agni, let him not kiss me_. She shut her eyes. _Please, Agni, let him kiss me_.

She felt Zuko lean towards her, and her chin rose automatically. His warm lips touched hers, and the world exploded. A deep, craving hunger overtook her, and all she wanted was to grab him and pull him closer. But her mind was luckily still in control of her limbs, and so her hands stayed by her side. The kiss lasted only a second, but it was the longest second of her entire life. When he pulled away, his hands stroked her cheek. It felt like her skin burst into flames.

Her eyes opened and met his again, and she read so many things in those two points of gold. Anger. Despair. Pride. Hope. Passion. Pain. Love. Acceptance. They looked at each other for a long moment before he turned away. She watched his back, feeling like half her heart was leaving with him. She was fighting hard against the tears. Her father started speaking again, but she paid no attention to his words. Aang then began his show for her, using all four of the elements in glorious displays. A small part of her heart glowed with pride and affection for him, but the rest of her was too busy focusing on not crying. Then Aang was suddenly in front of her, his eyes beaming in joy as he leant down and kissed her. His lips were soft and familiar, but they were not what she wanted. Still, she smiled and allowed him to drag her from her hammock so they could dance. She lost herself to the Water Tribe music, allowing her body to follow the drums without thinking. As she danced with her fiancé the same thoughts vibrated through her head over and over, thumping in time with her feet.

It hadn't just been lust. It hadn't just been some elemental pull. She didn't just want Zuko for his body or his kissing. She wanted _him_- his soul and his faults and his heart. She was not only in love with him, but she truly loved him. The deep kind of love she only really understood the second after he'd kissed her.

She closed her eyes and allowed Aang to hold her.

-x-x-x-

Katara had assured her grandmother that she could do her hair by herself. After all, the style was not too elaborate- all she had to do was pile some of her hair on the top of her head and secure it with traditional Water Tribe beads. However, now that the Waterbender was actually attempting to do said hairstyle, it was becoming very apparent that it was harder to accomplish than it looked. When her eighth attempt at securing a particularly stubborn piece of hair in place failed miserably she finally lost her temper and threw her hands up in disgust. Then, with a frustrated groan, she allowed her head to sink into her hands.

In less than half an hour she was getting married. That knowledge alone stiffened her shoulders and set her emotions on edge. She was _marrying _a fourteen-year-old boy. And even the fact that said boy was the Avatar did not take away the ridiculous nature of that fact. She'd said yes to Aang's proposal because she did love him. Because it was the only step she'd thought plausible or possible. Because she'd expected them to stay engaged for ages before actually getting married. Because…. Just because. She wasn't even sure of the reasons any more.

In fact, she wasn't sure of anything any more. Ever since the party the previous day her mind had been buzzing with far too many thoughts. She'd felt so many emotions in the past twelve hours she was just about ready to never feel again. And none of it had helped her in any way. She was still confused, still miserable, still longing, still aware that nothing could change. The only difference between what she felt now and what she'd felt a week ago was that now she knew exactly what she would be missing. And that just made matters so much worse.

"Do you need some help with that?"

Her head shot up, wide blue eyes finding the image of Ursa standing at the door. The woman's face was kind and concerned and its expression was so mother-like that Katara could not find it in herself to refuse. So, blushing slightly, she whispered her thanks. Ursa just smiled wider and moved into the room, gently picking up the brush Katara had discarded with much gusto. She worked swiftly yet gently, her hands threading through the Waterbender's thick hair with expertise. All Katara could do was watch in silence, admiring the way that the Fire Nation noblewoman easily clipped her hair up in a perfect Water Tribe style.

"I never got the chance to thank you." Ursa was the one to break the silence.

Katara frowned in confusion. "For…?"

"Protecting my little boy. Well," she made a face and shrugged. "He's not little any more but…"

Katara's smile was automatically warm. "It's okay. It was… a mutual agreement." She elaborated at Ursa's uncomprehending face. "He protected me too." She remembered Azula's lightning and shuddered. "A lot."

Ursa nodded. "He cares for you deeply."

Katara swallowed down the lump in her throat. "I know."

"You two share a special bond."

It was not a question, and the young Waterbender had no way to answer it. All too soon she was walking towards the makeshift hall on the shore of the island. Toph and the other Earthbenders had spent the whole morning crafting it and their hard work paid off- it looked beautiful. The structure was a mixture of the Air Temples and the great ice city of the North Pole. The two designs, though different, worked very well together and Katara couldn't stop herself from gasping in awe when she caught sight of it.

Before she could take the whole building in, however, she was suddenly inside it. Master Pakku and her father were on either side of her, with Suki and Toph in front and Kanna bringing up the rear. People waved to her from where they sat, beaming and wishing her luck with their eyes. She registered none of it as she walked, in an utter daze, towards Aang. He was standing next to Sokka in front of a table made from the same stone as the building. A Water Tribe elder stood alone behind the table as there were no Air Nomad people left to help bless the wedding. The Avatar was dressed in a rich Air Nomad robe, his smile so wide it took up his entire face. Next to him stood a beaming Sokka in his Water Tribe best and beside him…

She nearly stopped walking. Zuko's eyes bore into hers as she walked towards her fiancé. On the one hand his gaze made her want to stop walking, to turn around and change out of her wedding dress. On the other hand, it also made her want to speed up as her brain fantasised a setting where Aang and Zuko swapped positions, where Zuko's rich red robes changed to white ones and her wedding dress became one from the Fire Nation. Her fantasies shattered as Zuko looked away and she finally reached Aang.

He had grown a lot in the past two years, yet she was still slightly taller than him. Thus when she stood across from him, hands clasped in his while he beamed, she was looking down into his eyes. Eyes that were full of so much hope and love and endearment that she felt herself soften right to her core. But somehow that soft feeling was not enough to drown out the rest of her emotions, as it once had been. She was still acutely aware of Zuko's eyes on her and a part of her mind was screaming at her to run. Suddenly, she wasn't sure she could do this. Her heart rate climbed as she began to panic, and her entire mouth went dry, as her body seemed to go numb. She tried taking calming breaths to sort through it all but all she felt was panic and confusion and utter hopelessness.

The spirits, however, seemed to take pity on her. For Katara was still floundering, unsure of what on earth to do or say, when her wedding was ended for her. The reason for the abrupt standstill in the ceremony was Suki, who yelped into the revered hush that her water had just broken. Her exclamation was so sudden that for a few moments everybody just gaped at her. Then Sokka let out a strangled sound, not unlike that of a dying mooselion, and the entire hall erupted into chaos.

-x-x-x-

The sunset bathed those sitting on the porch of the little house in soft fire colours. The excitement and general rushing about that had happened for most of the afternoon had finally quietened down, leaving everybody tired and grateful for the peace. The door to the house opened and Katara stepped out, her smile plain and glorious.

"It's a little boy," she announced to those who did not know yet, and many cheers floated through the air.

The Waterbender beamed wider, pushing strands of her wild and ratty hair out of her face. One or two beads still clung to the mattered tendrils, but most of the others had either been lost or removed somewhere in the course of the day. While Hakoda went in to join his mother and his new grandchild she carefully manoeuvred her way out onto the porch, trying not to stand on the hems of the oversized dress she had hastily exchanged her wedding dress for a few hours before. Aang was excitedly talking to Haru and Teo and, not wanting to interrupt, Katara found herself sitting in the first open place she spotted. It took her a few moments to realize Zuko was beside her, and by then it was too late to move without arousing suspicions. Awkward silence frosted between them, each refusing to look at each other.

"So. Sokka must be ecstatic."

"He is." A smile automatically made its way onto her face. "He wanted a boy so badly. When I left they were arguing about names."

The Firelord had to laugh at this- he could imagine the type of things Sokka would want to name his son. He felt an amused pang of sympathy for Suki and the little boy. His amusement vanished as he felt Katara's eyes on him. Swallowing he looked up, catching her gaze for the first time.

"What?" It came out ruder than he'd intended, but he was nervous and unsure.

"Nothing I just… I was thinking… You will make a good father." Her tone was sure, factual.

He turned away and busied himself by watching the rest of his friends. He almost felt her disapproval at his sceptic silence, and he felt her stiffen into her usual stubborn posture. But as she opened her mouth to try and convince him, he suddenly noticed that something was amiss. He held up one finger and Katara was surprised into silence. Zuko frowned, looked around again and then got slowly to his feet. Carefully, quietly, he started towards the huge pot-plant on the side of the porch.

"What are you-?"

Zuko shook his head at her, stopping her question. Katara watched him in baffled curiosity as he crouched by the plant and then slowly drew the leaves aside. She nearly fell over when she saw Toph seated behind the huge fern. The young Earthbender was seated in a small ball, her legs drawn up to her chin. And, unless the light was already playing tricks on Katara's tired eyes, Toph had been crying.

"It's way too crowded out there," Toph muttered, voice thick.

"You'll have to come out soon- it'll be our turn to go and see the baby."

The Waterbender was surprised by how soft and gentle Zuko's voice was. It sounded so paternal it threw her off guard. And while she blinked in shock, Zuko continued to gaze gravely at Toph's tear-stained face. He knew a lot must have happened to make her cry and he started trying to fit the pieces together. One small reason had to be Sokka's baby. He'd been told of Toph's crush on the Water Tribe warrior, and while he knew she was happy for Suki and would never dream of breaking the couple up, the final realization that he would never be hers must have hurt. With a sinking heart the Firelord realized another reason must be because of the wedding that nearly was. Zuko wasn't always the frontrunner on picking up people's emotions but he wasn't stupid- he'd been aware of Toph's feelings for Aang almost as soon as he'd joined the gang. But he refused to go down that road: it would bring up too many of his own warring emotions to think about the wedding.

"It's not like I'm going to miss much. To me a baby is just a smaller human that isn't any fun at all. I don't see what everybody's making a big fuss of, anyway. All it's going to do is cry and poop. And all it's gonna like is being fed and sleeping!"

And there was the third reason. Jealousy of another sort. The Earthbender hardly ever pitied herself for being unable to see. But at times like that- times where seeing brought a whole new perspective to joy and rightness- she was reminded forcefully of how much she lacked. And she was wallowing in it, letting it mould with the first two reasons to create despair that had caused her, the mighty Toph, to actually cry. Zuko thought for a moment, then smirked.

"You know what else babies like?"

She glowered in his general direction. "No."

"Being tickled," Zuko answered, smirking widely.

And before she knew what was happening, his fingers were on her, wriggling mercilessly against her sides. She shrieked and began to try and fend him off at once, swatting at him viciously as she squirmed. He just kept darting out of the way, however, not stopping his assault for an instant.

"I'm going to kill you!" she howled, flinging herself on top of him.

Almost automatically Zuko's arms half encircled her, stopping her body from rolling off his as he crashed backwards onto the porch. The two of them wrestled for a while, Zuko mostly on the defence. Then, catching an opportunity, he swooped in, grabbed her and stood up, lifting her clear off the ground. Before she could recover he flipped her upside down, holding her middle in such a way that her kicking legs didn't make contact with his body.

"Let me go! Zuko, let me go!" She pounded against his shins viciously.

"What do you think I should do with it?" he asked Katara, panting slightly.

"It doesn't look too edible… But Sokka will eat anything. Wash it off in the well first." She was laughing.

"_Zuko!_" Toph's shriek held more panic now.

Laughing, the Firelord gently set her down on her feet. She seethed at him, smoothing down her rumpled clothes with the air of cold rage.

"Idiot, now I need to go and fix my hair!"

Her dark tresses hang in disarray around her hair, some of it still in her usual style and some out. She muttered some curses under her breath, stomping out with as much force as she could manage. But she was not fast enough- both Zuko and Katara caught the smile on her face and the way her previously hunched posture had lightened. There was a scattering of laughter from the guests who had watched, and Zuko began brushing himself down. When he straightened he found that Katara was smirking at him in a very infuriating way.

"What?"

"That just proves my earlier statement. You're going to be a great father."

He just sighed, unable to truly believe her words. Sensing his temporary defeat, Katara lunged.

"Come on. I think it's our turn to see the baby."

He eyes her wearily, instantly drawing back instinctively. "I don't think-"

"It's not going to bite you, Zuko." She was exasperated.

"I know! It's just… I don't… Really I can…"

She grabbed his hand firmly in hers and pulled. He resisted, still spluttering incoherent excuses but she was adamant. Luck was on her side again as he couldn't very well get rough with her in front of so many witnesses and so she was able to drag him inside and into Suki's room. Aang followed them, laughing at the sight and not seeming to notice how Zuko did everything to stop Katara except take his hand out of hers.

Suki was propped up in a bed, looking tired but beaming. Sokka sat beside her, looking just about ready to burst with pride and happiness. Hakoda and Kanna stood to the side, fondly watching the squirming bundle wrapped in a white blanket that was currently being passed into Toph's waiting arms. The Earthbender's face was unreadable as she held the baby, being sure to stand almost over the bed in fear of dropping him.

"I guess he's kinda cute." Her soft smile gave her away.

Sokka laughed and took his son, placing a kiss on his forehead before handing him to Aang. The Avatar made baby talk with the dark-skinned baby, rocking him ever so gently and pinching his cheek softly. Then, grinning, he passed the baby boy onto Katara. Her gaze turned soft and gentle, and Zuko was reminded of an expression he had seen on his own mother's face years ago. Watching Katara with the baby was something special, and he almost forgot his initial awkwardness of being in the room.

"And now it's back to Mommy," the Waterbender cooed softly, starting towards Suki.

"Not yet." The Kyoshi Warrior said with a smile. "Uncle Zuko hasn't gotten to hold him yet."

The Firelord instantly paled, and began saying no at once. He turned panicky as Katara ignored his protests and started towards him anyway. He took a step back as she continued towards him and his back hit the wall. He was trapped. Instantly he curled his hands behind him, showing his refusal to hold the child. Katara raised an eyebrow at him and carefully held the baby out. When he glared at her and refused to take it, she shrugged and then made as if to drop him.

Even though his mind told him at once that there was no way Katara would _ever _drop the baby boy, his arms shot out automatically, curling around the tiny body. Katara beamed and he glowered at her, deep betrayal and rage in his eyes that she ignored. She stepped back and his rage turned to panic again as he realized he was holding a baby. Swallowing hard he forced himself to look down.

Two large, bright blue eyes stared up at him, and he could have sworn there was curiosity laced in them. Then the baby squirmed, and Zuko swore he nearly had a heart attack. He couldn't do this! He was going to drop him. Trying to calm down, he was about to hand him back to Katara with some comment on how cute he was when the baby reached out and firmly grasped one of his fingers. All the air seemed to leave Zuko's lungs at the feeling of the little hand around his own.

And suddenly the weight in his arms took on a new meaning. Katara saw his gaze soften, saw his eyes widen and warm, and her own heart nearly exploded with joy. The moment was indescribable, yet unnoticed by nobody but her. Gently she moved right beside Zuko, looking down at the baby just as he was. Without really knowing why, she placed her cheek on Zuko's shoulder, watching as the Firelord gently stroked the little boy's cheek. It was this sight that greeted Suki as she looked up, and it was so tangible and breathtaking that the Kyoshi warrior froze in place. The first thought that popped into her head was how completely right Katara and Zuko looked as a family.

-x-x-x-

It was late at night when Katara was awakened by a tapping noise. Groggily she sat up, rubbing her eyes against the sleep. It took her another moment to realize the tapping came from the door that led out onto the porch. Frowning she tripped her way out of bed and opened it, stifling a yawn. Zuko's face greeted her.

"Zuko? It's the middle of the night!" She was more surprised than she let on.

"Sorry. I… Sorry."

She became even more curious as he shifted in embarrassment, seemingly unable to say anything else.

"Is something wrong?" she frowned.

"No.… I just… I…" He took a deep breath. "I had to tell you good luck. For the wedding tomorrow."

She stared at him in perplexed incomprehension. "But you're going to be there."

"No, I'm not. I got a message from one of the colonies today. They need me there to oversee the signing of a peace treaty between the two different groups of people there. My ship leaves first thing in the morning."

"Can't you wait just a few more hours?" She was aware how desperate she sounded.

"No. It… I need to take the tides and the possibility of bad weather into account…"

It was quite possibly the worst excuse she'd ever heard. Anger and hurt filled her, causing her grip on the door to tighten as she glared, not even sure if he could see the expression on her face.

"You just don't want to come to the wedding," she accused.

"I can't do it, Katara. I can't stand there and pretend to be happy while I watch you marry him. I just can't."

"Coward." The hissed insult was laced with her oncoming tears.

He stiffened at once, going on the defensive. "Like you would have been able to do any different," he snarled. "This is your decision, Katara. Don't make that my fault."

His words burned like a slap through the face. "What do you want me to do, Zuko?" she snapped. "Please tell me, because I have no clue."

"You really want to know? Fine: I want you to call off the wedding. I want you to tell him you can't marry him and I want you to give him his necklace back. I want you to choose _me_."

Silence. Zuko sighed and deflated. "But that's not going to happen." His voice was low. "Good luck, Katara."

He didn't touch her- didn't stroke her cheek or hug her or kiss her forehead. All he did was give her one last piercing look before turning around and walking away. Katara was too numb to even cry.

-x-x-x-

Everything after that passed in a blur. When she next became aware of her surrounding she was standing outside facing the make-shift building, dressed in the antique Air Nomad dress and with her hair carefully done up again. Ursa and Kanna were fussing around the long hem of the robe while Toph waited a little impatiently at the head of the procession. Ursa gave Katara a gentle smile and the Waterbender felt her heart ache in longing for the kind woman that could have been her mother. Hakoda and Pakku came around the corner, and the Water Tribe chief stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes raced over this daughter, and they suddenly looked over-bright.

"It's really happening this time, isn't it?" His voice was rough.

"Oh, Dad." She could feel the catch in her throat. "You're going to make me start crying too."

Hakoda laughed shakily and hugged his daughter gently. "The last time seemed surreal to me, but now I feel like it's really happening. I love you, Katara. And you look so very beautiful."

She swallowed hard against the growing tears and hugged her father back. "I love you too, Dad. Thank you."

Hakoda let go and moved behind his daughter. Kanna squeezed her shoulder with a loving look on her face and then fell into place at the back while Pakku and Hakoda flanked her. Katara looked at the three of them and willed herself not to cry. Suddenly Pakku stepped forwards and faced her with his fierce glare.

"Are you sure you want this? You are a strong-willed young lady, but your heart knows exactly what's right. All three of us have our doubts, but if you are sure then we are."

Her father and grandmother flushed somewhat at Pakku's confession, but Katara could not be angry with them. A part of her had the exact same doubts. But she buried that part and nodded. Satisfied, her master fell back into step with a bow of his head. Katara turned back to the front and took a deep breath, starting towards the building. They walked in silence for a while before Toph suddenly ground to a halt without a shred of warning. With a flip of her wrists she caused a wall of rock to rise and block their paths. They all stopped, confused and surprised, eyes flickering to a glaring Toph in confusion.

"Say it out loud," the Earthbender demanded.

"What are you talking about? Toph?"

"You," she pointed at Katara roughly, "need to say it out loud." Katara only blinked at her in dumbfounded surprise, and Toph snarled in frustration. "Listen, Sweetness. I see through reading vibrations, so I _know _things, okay? And I know a little of how you really feel. Now you gotta admit it out loud so that you yourself realize what's going on in that girlie heart of yours. 'Cause if you don't, a lot of people are going to get hurt. One of them is my big brother and the other… Well…" She flushed. "He doesn't deserve to be lied to! So spit it out!"

Katara's heart began to sink. She had a very good idea what Toph was talking about now, even though the grown-ups present were still utterly confused. Shame and embarrassment filled her, and she dropped her eyes to the ground.

"Say it," Toph demanded again.

"I don't know what you're talking about," the Waterbender whispered.

"Say it, Katara!"

"I don't know what you-!"

"SAY IT!"

"I don't-!"

"_Say it say it say it say it say-!_"

"Alright!" A nearby bowl of old wash water foamed dangerously at her outburst. "You want me to say it? Okay then: I'm in love with Zuko. Hear that, Toph? I love him. Very much. And I think he may love me back. And we kissed in Ba Sing Se, and I loved it. But you know what else? It isn't going to change anything. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a wedding to go to."

She stomped around the mass of rock, aware of the flabbergasted silence that radiated from her entourage. She could imagine the looks on their faces, the shocked disbelief tinged with horror and disappointment. And Ursa… She had no ideas what Ursa would think, but some of the possibilities left her feeling even hollower. She stopped her march as she reached the doors to the building, and fiercely wiped at the few tears she could not force back by sheer force of will. There were footsteps behind her, and the scent of her father filled her nostrils.

"Katara…"

"Don't, Dad. Please. Just… Don't."

She glared resolutely ahead as she felt rather than saw her father retract the hand he had been about to lay soothingly on her shoulder. Toph silently came to stand in front of her, and three more sets of footsteps told the Waterbender that Kanna, Ursa and Pakku had arrived too. Unable to look any of them in the face, least of all the Fire Nation lady, Katara turned her head away as she walked passed them and entered the hall to find her seat before the ceremony began. The Waterbender found her eyes being drawn to the ocean just beyond the island's horizon. On the waves, just about to set sail, was the distant outline of a Fire Nation ship. She had to fight harder not to cry.

Finally Toph opened the doors and started forwards, still without saying another word. The rest of the procession followed and made their way slowly towards Aang. This time, Katara was aware of all the smiles being sent her way. She could feel their acceptance and expectancies radiating towards her, and her sandals suddenly seemed to be made of lead. Would they still look at her that way if they knew what her heart was secretly feeling? Would they still expect her to go through with the marriage, still see her the same way? She barely managed to return a seated Suki's warm smile as she passed her sister-in-law and her nephew.

And then, too suddenly for her liking, she was in front of Aang again and her hands were gripped in his. There was no panic this time, only a dulled numbness that seeped through every pore in her body. She felt dirty and monstrous and unworthy and ashamed and angry and grateful all at once, and the enormity of the many emotions left her drained. She barely listened as the Water Tribe elder said the traditional bonding words. She let herself drift out of her body, drift into oblivion, feel and think nothing. She was doing this very well until the usual drone was interrupted by the elder asking a question that threw her and many of the guests.

"Avatar Aang, would you care to ask one of your past lives here to bear witness or give blessing?"

Aang nodded as she gaped, and before she could protest his tattoos were glowing and it was too late. She expected Roku to either appear only to Aang or to use the young Avatar's body as he had once before, but neither of those things happened. Instead, the room was suddenly leached of all colour but an unearthly, glowing blue. Katara let go of Aang's hands and looked around to see how everybody else was taking it, and was shocked to see them all stock-still- frozen as time around her stopped.

She nearly jumped right out of her skin when the light radiating from Aang's tattoos became smoke that materialised itself into Roku. And while Katara was still processing the sudden appearance of the dead Avatar, another one materialized. Then another, and another, and another until they were both completely surrounded by past Avatars. Aang stopped glowing quite so much and opened his eyes. By the way they widened at the sight that greeted him, she knew he had not expected this to happen either.

The Waterbender was just considering bowing to all of them- they deserved the respect, after all- when Roku and a few more Avatars circled Aang, blocking him from her sight. They began to converse with him but their words were too soft for Katara to hear. Before she could become curious the ghostly apparitions walled her in too.

"Young Waterbender." The speaker was a pretty lady dressed in what appeared to be Earth Kingdom garb. "You have been brave and willing to accept your destiny. But you have forgotten that fate is never set in stone" Her wise face was grave.

"You have been good to our current life," a wizened old monk continued, giving her a tiny smile. "But you are accepting things without truly questioning if they are the right things to do. Remember that the easiest path is not always the right one."

"I don't understand," Katara breathed.

"My daughter." A Water Tribe Avatar claimed her attention, his face the kindest out of the lot. "You must follow the destiny your heart tells you to take. Love is not something that can be created by sheer force of will. And deception in that front is a dark road that nobody should travel."

"If you do, you will end up hurting more than just yourself," an Avatar behind her said gravely.

"Young Waterbender," they all chorused, "we offer you this wisdom: choose the path that your head and heart both agree on."

They parted slightly, and she was suddenly faced with Roku. His face was grave and kind at the same time, and he took her hands in his.

"Katara, I am of Aang. I feel what he feels and I would never wish him harm. But I am of the Fire Nation too, and I also understand the feelings of their current Firelord. We cannot tell you what to do- which road to take. Know only that we hope you choose the one you will be able to live with. For everybody's sake."

Roku's eyes glowed blue, and the Avatars disappeared into smoke once more. The world suddenly regained its colour, sound and movement, and Katara found herself holding Aang's hands again as the hall shifted and wondered if anything had just happened. The grip on her hands slackened, and she looked at her fiancé in surprise. His grey eyes were filled to the brim with hurt and anger- expressions that ripped through her own heart and made her want to hold him close and chase all the bad away.

"You're going to leave me now, aren't you?"

His voice was quiet, laced with pain but with an air of… acceptance. It was as if it wasn't really a question, just a last attempt at stopping the inevitable of happening. Immediately she began shaking her head, opening her mouth to deny it. But the words somehow got stuck in her throat, and the words of the past Avatars rang through her head again. Looking at the pain etched on Aang's face, she wondered what his past lives had told him. What could they possibly have said that made him react in resigned agony?

Katara took a deep, shuddering breath, and allowed herself to remember. Remember being with Aang, remember feeling things for him, remember picturing this day once or twice in her head. The pictures were clearer now, as though before they had been made hazy by her stubborn insistence that they were the things she was supposed to feel and the things she was supposed to do. Swallowing past the sudden lump in her throat, she allowed herself to love him in the right ways. Then she looked him, her little brother and best friend, in the eyes and apologised silently. Her hands squeezed his once before they let go, pale white fingers slipping from her tanned ones. She was already halfway towards the door before anybody really realized what was going on.

"Katara!" The Water Tribe elder's voice was utterly bewildered. "Where are you going?"

"To stop a ship!"

Katara ran as fast as she could possibly go, hitching up her dress so she could run without hindrance. Her sandals slipped off, but she continued barefoot and slightly blinded as her hair began to slip out of its hold as well. She didn't pause for a second before launching herself into the water, dropping her skirts so she could summon the waves to her bidding. Her bending was hurried and sloppy, resulting in her getting slapped with water, but she did not care. Her eyes were trained firmly on the Fire Nation ship in the horizon, as though it were the only object in the world. As she rode her wave-like creation towards the metal monster, she called for it to stop. The closer she got, the louder she yelled until she sounded frantic even to her own ears. To her utter relief the ship, did stop and Fire Nation guards crowded the decks curiously. She was not concerned about them- she wanted only one man.

"Zuko!"

By the expression on his face, she knew he thought something terrible had happened on the shore. She made the wave swell so that she was the same height as the ship and then grabbed the rail and vaulted herself over it. Dripping wet from her chaotic hair to her ruined dress she didn't waste a beat getting her footing on the deck. Instead, she flung herself at Zuko immediately and crashed his lips to hers. His warm body froze in shocked surprise, but he did not push her away. When she finally pulled back she saw his gold eyes wide and laced with utter confusion.

"I choose you," she babbled at once, slightly breathless. "I know it's going to be hard and it's possibly the stupidest thing I've ever done and everybody is going to be disappointed and shocked and I'm hurting Aang and everything but I thought it through and… I choose you. I choose you."

Without a word he scooped her up and kissed her, which she shrewdly took to be his 'I choose you too, Katara'. He didn't seem to care that she was wetting his expensive Fire Nation robes or that she probably smelled of seaweed- he just crushed her to him and allowed her to wrap her wet arms around his neck. For a moment that could also have been an hour there was silent, and then a lone guard started clapping. This prompted the rest of the ship to break out in loud applause and cheering, which stopped instantly as Zuko resurfaced, just in case they weren't allowed to show their approval so vocally.

"Firelord Zuko. Should I turn us around, sir?"

"I think that would be wise," Zuko agreed, still looking rather dazed.

Katara laughed, a little hysterically as she was suddenly overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events. A Fire Nation cloak was brought for her and it was only then that she realized she was sort of cold.

"So… This is really happening?" Zuko looked rather unsure.

She smiled. "Yes, it's really happening."

"How did…? I mean, what made you change your mind?"

She told him of Toph's intervention and the appearance of the past Avatars, and his expression turned so baffled it was rather amusing.

"Wow. That… wasn't what I expected." She laughed. "And… Aang?"

A deep pang of guilt and slight regret screamed through her. "He's… going to be mad for a while. And really hurt. But…he'll be okay. We'll all be okay. I'll always love him, just… in a different way."

He stared at her with a calculating look for a while. "You're never allowed to love me in a different way, understand?"

"Who says I even love you?" she scoffed. "I won't," she amended quietly.

"And if you leave me for Haru on our wedding day I won't ever speak to you again," he teased dryly.

She had to laugh at that. "Why does everybody think there was something going on between us? Wait, don't answer that. I don't want to know. But… speaking of weddings…"

"Hmm?"

"Could we… wait a few years? I mean, it's not that I don't want to marry you, and I understand as the Firelord you-"

"Relax." He slipped his hand into hers. "We'll definitely wait a few years. I think I've had enough wedding talk for a very long while."

She almost felt guilty for feeling so relieved. "So… what now?"

He winced slightly. "Now we go and do damage control on the island. After that I really do have to leave for that colony. And after that…" He hesitated. "You could come stay in the Fire Nation with me? So we can start to work this… us… out."

She felt a flutter in her stomach as her heart warmed and her cheeks flushed. "I'd like that. But…"

"But?"

"Give me the guest bedroom that's as far away from your room as possible." He gave her a look that made her blush horribly. "I mean, after all that's happened I think it's best if we make it as obvious as possible that before we get married we're not going to… you know…"

"Partake in any sinful activities?" he suggested shrewdly.

She grinned. "Exactly."

"Alright, the furthest room it is, then." There was a pause, and then his face split into a smirk. "But after the wedding is another story, right?"

She didn't know whether to laugh, blush or roll her eyes. She settled for pulling him closer, burring her head in his chest and facing the approaching island. "Yes, Zuko. After the wedding will be an entirely different story."

She felt him laugh slightly and some of the impending doom loosened off her shoulders. Whatever was coming could be conquered, because she had the other half of what made her whole to help her fight it.

* * *

**AN: **So much for part II being the longest. Sorry about that. Anyway, thanks so very, very much for reading. To all those who reviewed, favourited, alerted or just lurked- thank you. I love you very much. I hope the ending wasn't a disappointment to any of you.

All my love, WP.


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